Popular American Trends
University of Phoenix
Keith Mengel
8/05/2009
Today’s popular culture, in all aspects, is a culture of me. The majority of advertisements are geared towards self improvement and owning the best new product to raise social status. Socially, politically, religiously, and personally this trend is evident. In order to realize these trends people must take a critical look at their life and the lives of the community around them.
Socially this culture has demonstrated how important it is that they stand out and are noticed. Celebrities and others in the media spotlight stand out, giving younger people the impression that the individual is important. In subconscious steps to being as important they go out and get what the celebrity wears, listens to, watches, and they will emulate their actions and attitudes. Someone will see the super bowl and imitate touchdowns, because the spotlight is on that person, and an individual has a drive to be respected and recognized.
Political pop culture trend has become astoundingly evident with the most recent presidential election. During the campaigning the candidates are on an endless path towards reaching each individual worried about his or her own personal issue. Meanwhile, the candidate tries to get the message across that they are the same and understand. Candidates create the feeling that they relate to you and you should vote for them so that they are able to solve your personal issue. This method works because the media stresses its importance to no end. How often have you seen local government official’s campaigns being covered even half as well as a local election? Not very often should be the similar response among all mass media viewers and readers. The majority of the reasoning behind this, national news gets national attention. National attention brings higher viewer ratings. Higher viewer ratings bring more sponsorship dollars.
Religious pop culture is a difficult trend...